Leading Up To This
by AmaeMM
Summary: Drakken/Shego pairing, Shego's POV, please read and review
1. Beginning

The city was drenched in the dark of night. Underneath the lightning, roaring thunder, and the pouring rain most of the city was black. The whole city lost power except for a tall and rather odd-shaped building that proudly stood in the outskirts. Had it not been for the thunder and the rain the city probably would be able to hear the five inhabitants of that building argue amongst themselves.

So far it was turning out to be a typical evening at the Go Tower. The members of Team Go were in the meeting room 'discussing' how their rival Avarius managed to evade them once again. Their particularly accusatory exchange lasted for about an hour and included occasional punching and tackling. This ended abruptly when the green clad member of the team stormed out of the room. When the door slammed behind her the room went silent. The team discussion had reached its conclusion.

Believe it or not, this was actually a common occurrence for the team of superheroes. It was a totally typical night somewhere in the middle of the week. When she failed to return the next day it was unusual but not surprising. After a week had gone by and she still hadn't returned the remaining members must have realized the situation was definitely different. And their reaction? To tell you the truth I wouldn't know. I was the one who left that day and I really don't care how they felt about it.

I left Go City on foot, running through the relentless rain. I made it to Went which was a small town west of Go City. There I found a shabby hotel that I paid for with the money of one of my fake identities. Chances are my brothers wouldn't remember this one because I didn't use it very often. The next day I got the hell out of the country; I needed to get as far away from my stupid family as possible

I was in Europe and had no money to establish a life for myself or even just to get back to the US. I tried to get a job but that proved difficult seeing as I could not offer records of who I am. Those were all at home. After about three weeks of mostly living on the street I did something I never thought I would ever do: I stole. Really it was only a few items from SmartyMart that I could not afford to pay for.

Right before I went into the store I felt this tremendous guilt. It felt so awful it created a dull ache in my chest. I pushed myself forward, determined to do it anyway. When I grabbed the items off the shelf and into my purse, my heart was beating rapidly. By the time I got out of the store I noticed my guilt was gone. It was replaced by the realization of how _easy_ it was to steal. Replaced by the _thrill_ of doing something I knew I wasn't supposed to. Furthermore, it was replaced by the _desire_ to feel that thrill again.

That night I dreamt of high crime and adrenaline. The temptation was just too great so I didn't even bother trying to resist it. By the next morning I was out shoplifting and pickpocketing whatever I felt like grabbing. For the next two or three months it was practically all I ever did and not once did I ever get caught. Much to my amusement the authorities were baffled. I laughed myself to tears watching the news one night with a stolen plasma tv. Around this time I packed up my favorite stolen junk and flew back to the US. I don't know why but it seemed like the right time to go back. I still avoided Go City and even Chicago altogether. I settled in California and continued on my criminal lifestyle there.

The public didn't know of me but there were some individuals who did. In time I learned that I had gained a reputation among the other criminals in the community. I was the rising star of the underground evil-doer society. I gradually transitioned from a humble thief who stole for kicks to a skilled accomplice hired for all kinds of jobs including theft, infiltration, and kidnapping. I got paid good money for it too.

One fateful day I agreed to steal a government-created laser for an irrational and overtly annoying mad scientist. This happened about five or six years ago. I don't know exactly when because I never think about it. It doesn't really matter but in any case this is where my story began.


	2. Foreclosure

I retrieved the item effortlessly and brought it to him the next day. I expected to receive a 200 grand cash payment and be on my way but that's not what happened. Instead the pathetic moron asked if he could give me the money later because he had just recently realized he didn't have the funds to pay me. My answer to that was more or less to beat the crap out of the guy until he paid up what he owed me. He cowered and begged for more time while I kicked him around and blasted him with my power. The damn fool was so persistent and obnoxious I finally let up. I vowed to come back in a month to collect and blasted him one more time just to show I was serious.

When the thirty day extension was over I found him in the laboratory of his lair. He was humming to himself as he carelessly tinkered with a complex machine. Before I got around to making myself known to the oblivious scientist, the machine emitted a loud, something-is-not-right noise. He stared at it in confusion while he tried to figure out what to do. I knew what was about to happen so I did not hesitate to act. As fast as I could, I ran to the man to push him out of the way of the coming explosion. We were just far enough to avoid the impact. I got up quickly while he stayed sitting where he was. I took one look at his dazed expression and, for no reason I can recall, I burst out laughing.

His face soon resumed a more coherent look. He stood up then and he shook his fist wildly as he spoke. "What's so funny? One day I'm gonna take over the world. Fear me!"

His proud rant did not elicit the response he was looking for. I clutched my insides as I doubled over in laughter. I don't know if I had found anything else in this world to be as amusing as this mad _genius_. "Fine go ahead and laugh; one day you will tremble at my feet and when that time comes…" he paused to suck in a deep breath, "I WILL SHOW YOU NO MERCY", he finished yelling at the top of lungs like a four-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. I couldn't help myself, by the time he finished yelling I was rolling on the ground laughing.

"Fine!" he growled in defeat. He walked back to the remains of the machine and went about a futile attempt to put it back together. All the while he kept giving me evil looks as I continued laughing, tears streaming down my face. He kept on working, pretending not to notice me although he did an incredibly poor job considering the look of frustration on his face.

"You're going to pay for this" he muttered to himself in a perfectly audible voice. The word _pay_ rang through my head. I remembered then that there was a reason I had come to his lair in the first place. It took me few seconds to stop laughing and after that I needed a few moments to catch up on breathing. I got back on my feet with an intimidating expression plastered on my face.

"Speaking of payment…" I began in an icy tone as I slowly moved towards him. "Where is my money?" I was only inches away from him. "About that…" he began with a suspicious lack of confidence. My eyes followed him as he walked away from me and grabbed two manila envelopes off a nearby workbench. He came back to me holding out the envelopes. I snatched them from his hand and looked inside. "How much is in here?"

"Seventy-two thousand dollars" he answered promptly. "That's it?" I exclaimed in a rising fury. "I-I'm still working on getting the rest of the money." He said like the coward he is."Really?" I challenged. He twiddled his thumbs and looked down while he anxiously waited for me to continue. I coolly looked around the lab as I thought through how I was going to deal with this loser. In no time at all my face broke into a wide smile. I had the most brilliant idea.

I walked back up to him with a glint of wicked amusement in my eyes and put the manila envelopes back into his shaking hands. "Here, keep your money" I told him. I just stared at him for a minute. The poor fool was so confused, he didn't know what to think.

"Since you can't pay off your debt I will take your lair instead." His face changed from confusion to shock to fear to anger in a matter of seconds. "This place is my home; you can't take it away from me", he pleaded with that whiny voice of his. "Nope, you had your chance", I answered promptly. He seemed to ponder my response for a moment. "You leave me no choice", he exclaimed a tad melodramatically. He ran to push an intercom button on the wall and called his henchmen to get me out of his hair.

Ooh, a fight. I looked forward to the opportunity. Life would get to be really boring without the occasional brawl. I waited patiently for his defense to come. I was finally greeted by a mob of pudgy men all dressed in the same red uniform. They all ran to me at once. I punched, kicked, and blasted them all out of the fight in less than a minute. It was the most pathetic fight I have ever been in. I was fairly sure even Mego would be able to beat these guys with no power and one hand tied behind his back. In case you've never seen Mego fight, I'll tell you right now that's saying a lot.

Realizing he had lost, the mad scientist tried to sneak out of view to avoid retribution. He was about as sneaky as he was clever. I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and spun him around. I lifted my glowing hand right in front of his face to make sure he was aware of it. "You have fifteen minutes to get yourself and all your little henchpeople out of my lair" I yelled fully in his face. The idiot had at least enough sense to know I was serious then. He ran towards the door, tripped over his feet, got back up, and swiftly made his exit. I chuckled to myself as I watched him leave. Then I went about exploring my new property.

...to be continued


	3. Drakken Comes Back

I did not take over his lair just to be cruel, although it was my main reason. The other reason being I at that time lived in a simple one-bedroom apartment while his lair was much bigger and looked like more fun to live in.

The lair was humongous, with an almost stylish nighttime-mystery feel to it. The spacious rooms filled me with an odd sense of contentment that was fairly reminiscent to my home back in Go City. (I swear on the eventual graves of my four brothers that the absolute **only** thing I ever missed about home is the building itself. ((I also liked the fighting part but Hego always limited me anyways.))

I spent the rest of the day and most of the evening walking through the endless hallways and limitless rooms and quarters. I was fascinated by all the doomsday devices and other villainous décor that was strewn about. I rearranged the computer and security systems to accommodate to the change of ownership. When I was finished with that I checked the cameras and locks to make sure I was safe. Then I found the only room with comfortable furniture and slept there for the night.

I woke up the next morning a bit disoriented. Since I was in an unfamiliar bedroom I assumed the worst. That theory was cracked a second later when I realized I was fully dressed. I remembered the dream I had the night before of an elusive adventure I had alongside a blue-skinned mad scientist. My memory slowly started coming back to me.

My head was almost cleared of its confusion when a loud _ding-dong_ noise rang in my ear. I walked towards the noise until I found the front entrance. I deliberated for a moment as to whether I should open the door or not. I opened the door, not knowing what to expect. There standing in front of me was the man I had just kicked out of the house yesterday, Dr. Drakken. He wasted no time, he got right to the begging. "Please Shego, please, let me have my lair back. Please, please, I have no where else to go." I laughed before I slammed the door in his face.

A half on an hour later he returned with the same plea. This time I ditched the laughter and just shut the door. Another hour went by and he was back at the door. I decided that I wasn't going to open the door and he'll go away. I underestimated him big time. He kept ringing that damn doorbell until twenty minutes later when I finally gave in and opened the door. "You don't understand", he pleaded with me, "I can't live with my mother, you don't know what its like".

"Aw, poor little Drakken can't make ends meet so he has to live with his mommy." I replied in a baby's voice. I chuckled a little to myself then I switched to an indifferent expression. "Listen bud, that's not my problem." I told him. I folded my arms across my chest and stared him down with haughty eyes. He searched my eyes for any sign of compassion. He eventually realized there was none to find. He hunched his shoulders and dejectedly walked away. He did not bother me any more that day.

I felt triumphant. I thought I had rid myself of the spineless nuisance. Turns out I was wrong. Maybe two weeks later he was right back at my doorstep. I was just arriving home from a successful abduction to find him standing there banging on my door. I was flabbergasted. What made this psychotic loser so persistent. I blanched when he turned around and saw me.

He ran up to me, wrapped his arms around my ankles, and wept at my feet. "Go away" I said through gritted teeth. "Please let me stay here" he managed to say between his crying. "Not a chance, now let go of me!" I snapped. He stood up. His demeanor changed and he wasn't crying anymore. He looked at me expressly defeated, communicating his last plea through his sad eyes. "You are only turning me away", he started in a level tone, " because you don't know what it's like to have to answer to my annoying, controlling mother."

I felt a sudden surge of sympathy for the guy. Well actually I think it would be called empathy. Switch the word _mother_ for _brother_ and I think I've been in his shoes before. The poor villain was about to walk away when he heard me sigh loudly. "Come in, have a cup of coffee, and we'll chat. After that I'll help you get the rest of your junk outta here so I can move my stuff in." His sad expression lifted in a split second. I wondered what kind of excessive behavior he would exhibit this time. I regretted my invitation even before he strolled into the lair.

I couldn't tell you how this happened because I didn't understand it myself. Somehow Drakken convinced me to let him stay here as long as he payed rent. Now you're thinking to yourself: _Why would she let him stay? She must have gone soft._ Well, I just want you to know that is not the case. There are several good reasons why I chose this. I'll even tell you what a few of them are.

1. He was living in _my_ lair because he had nowhere else to go. Translation: I owned him. If there was one thing I managed to learn about the mad scientist in these past few encounters, it was that he had entertainment value. I could think of no greater asset than having him around as a punching bag. I mean that more figuratively than literally although both apply. Messing with Drakken was going to be my new favorite hobby.

2. In our arrangement, he was the one who had to do all the cleaning. Not to mention the cooking and a lot of other necessary tasks that I had no desire to do myself.

3. I was always curious as to what supervillains were like when they weren't in the middle of a scheme. Although Dr. Drakken may not qualify as a standard example, this was to be an eye-opening experience for me.

As for Drakken, he was ecstatic. By now I have met his mother several times so I understand his reaction. But back then I could only wonder. He also seemed kind of excited by my company rather than resenting it. That is something to this day, I still don't understand.

. . .tbc


	4. Roommates

Within the first day I had already gotten more than I bargained for. There was no way I could have possibly known how easily I'd get tangled up in Drakken's affairs. The first morning was almost pleasant. When I made it to the kitchen for breakfast, Drakken was there humming contentedly to himself while he cooked for both of us. Sitting at the kitchen table eating pancakes and hashbrowns was a little more awkward than it probably should have been. We sat there in tense silence while we ate the most delicious pancakes I've ever eaten. I didn't mind the silence too much, but it seemed to bother him. Because it was the tactless blue fool I was accompanied by, that simple silence simply couldn't last.

"You know, Shego, we've hit it off really well" he started conversationally in the middle of the heavy quiet, "…almost like an evil family". _"An evil family, was that like the alternative version of a heroic family?_" I pondered in confusion. The thought made me shudder slightly.

From my past experiences I have never recalled villains being so easily attached to other people. The only response I could give to that was a look of horror. His face slowly fell as he read the expression on my face.

"Be that way if you must. I've dealt with sworn enemies who weren't half as hostile as you." With that he grabbed both of our empty plates and exited the dining room.

Not a minute later, the doorbell rang. Drakken came back in the room tense with anxiety. "Shego, are you expecting company"?

"No." I smirked. "Let me guess; you owe money to somebody else as well."

His eyes glazed over for a moment and he responded by making a noise that means _I'm not really listening right now because I'm too busy freaking out_. "Who is it?" I asked him.

He ignored my question and ran to the main chamber. I followed right behind, my curiosity spiked. He led me to a wall-sized computer screen that had uploaded image of an older, weird-looking lady on the other side of the door.

"Oh, come on. She looks harmless" I said to a now terrified Dr. Drakken. He was nowhere near as afraid of me even when I was beating him up. I think I was a little offended by it.

"You don't understand" he said with wide eyes.

"Who is it?" No response. "What does she want?"

Instead of answering my questions he grabbed by arm and dragged me into the nearest hiding place. "Lockdown initiated" came a mechanical voice from the computer.

"It's too late! She's already in the lair." Drakken said despairingly.

"Who is it!?!" I asked again having lost my patience.

His eyes were wild with fear. "My mother!!!"

Well that explains a lot. I really should have guessed it.

"DREWBIE" called out the monstrosity that is Drakken's mother. Drakken looked at me pleadingly as I tried to stifle a giggle.

She found us easily enough. "Oh Drew, is this your girlfriend?" Her voice was a mere headache in the making.

"I think I'll get going. There is an individual who I've needed to get in contact with for the longest time." I said before quickly made my way to exit.

"I think I should go with you just to make sure you don't get into any trouble." With that, he pushed his mother out the door while saying his goodbye. All the while she was saying to herself how much of a gentleman her little Drewbie was.

I gave Drakken a meaningful look but chose not to say anything. "Let's go Shego, you don't want to be late for your meeting" he said, choosing to ignore my fiery glare and my glowing hands. I came reluctantly. He won the battle but I already claimed victory in the war. He was a Momma's Boy; such knowledge is a perfect tool for torture.

"We need to get out of here so we don't look suspicious." he told me as we watched her leave.

I rolled my eyes. "Drewbie" I snickered. He silently fumed while he took my elbow and led me to the hovercraft. I didn't resist because I was too busy making fun of him.

We got in the hovercraft and we floated around Middleton. He showed me the general layout of the city and some specific places. All the while he ranted and raved passionately about world domination partly to prove to these people that he could. He was as weird and pathetic as he always seemed but I didn't feel like teasing him then. It was kinda cool to be in a villain's confidence instead of the subject of their fury. I found something so invigorating in the passion and grandiose nature of his aspirations. I did not show enthusiasm or scorn; I listened politely just for that one time.

He took us back to the lair two or three hours later. I didn't really do anything else for the rest of the day. I put on my favorite MC Honey CD, gave myself a manicure, and flipped through some magazines. I thought about the little trip I took with Drakken. His wild words stuck in my head. He did not seem to hold much potential but his aspirations seemed like so much fun.

I went to bed that night a little early. A good night's rest sounded good but it's not what I got. 10 soon became 11:30. I couldn't sleep because of all the crazy ideas that were placed in my head. After that I just may have fallen asleep if Drakken hadn't started making a racket. I endured it with grace for about twenty minutes before I lost all patience. There was no reason he should be so loud that I can hear him from across the lair. I stormed out of my room and to his lab with the full intention of teaching the blue weirdo some manners.

He banged on his latest invention and begged it to work. He did not see me yet so I decided I wouldn't alert him to my presence just yet. As long as I was here I might as well enjoy myself. I watched as he walked out of sight. For a moment all was quiet. It was so peaceful that I barely had the will to keep my eyes open. After those few fleeting moments slipped away the sound of cascading metallic items rushed to my ears. It was closely followed by a loud scowl from Dr. Drakken. He soon returned to where I could see him, carrying a toolbox in one hand and a wrench in the other.

I continued to spy on him as he put the toolbox down and used the wrench to repair whatever was wrong with the machine. He spent about ten minutes working on it before he lost patience. He grounded his teeth as he glared at the uncooperative machine. He was so distracted by the futility of his efforts that he let the wrench slip out of his hand and fall on his foot. He yelped then kicked the wrench with the same foot he had just hurt. By the look on his face the action brought on a second wave pain. I couldn't believe he was dumb enough to do that. Despite my miserable exhaustion, I felt myself smile a little. More than anything, I was surprised by how solid and unyielding his determination was. I sort of admired him for it. Sort of.

"Stubborn fool" I muttered.

He turned around suddenly to face me. As he did so, his arm swung around and hit a button on the side of the device. The machine came to life but Drakken did not become aware of it. Following the current trend, a week could pass before he noticed it. "Oh, hello Shego" he said in a voice perfect for a mid-afternoon chat. But this wasn't the middle of the afternoon.

"What do you think you're doing?" I chastised.

"Fixing the Jukebox of Doom" he answered in innocent confusion.

Just then, Drakken's evil invention started playing "_Love Shack"_. I shook my head and looked at him in exasperation. He clapped his hands and hooted gleefully. Without further comment I turned around and went back to bed. I decided that I was done for day. I would set him straight in the morning.

...tbc

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**Please tell me if this turned out all right, if not I can try revising it. I also truly appreciate the reviews I've gotten thus far. Thanks.**


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